Strand tension device



April 1956 A. F. PIEPER STRAND TENSION DEVICE Filed July 8, 1954 INVENTOR. ALPHO/VSE E P/EPER HIS ATTORNEY United States I PatentlO 2,743,069 STRAND TENSION nEvIcE Alphonse F. Pieper, Brighton, N. Y. Y Application July 8, 1954, Serial No. 442,091

9-Claims. (Cl. 242-154) This invention relates to a strand tension device for usein yarn and thread Winding and other similar machinery, and has for its purpose to afford an improved structure in which the comb members that contact the traveling strand are not affected by the friction of the strand and will resist such wear indefinitely.

The more commonly employed tensioning' devices for the purpose include a pair of cooperating metal comb members which are quickly worn by the frictional engagement between the traveling strand and the metal surfaces, and it is a particular object of the invention to provide a tension device with combmember's made of abrasion-resistant ceramic material such'that their surfaces are not affected by friction of a strand moving thereagainst' and will wear indefinitely. v Some efforts have been made to produce ceramic tension devices, but these have proved impractical either because of excessive cost of production or operational defects, and it is a purpose of the invention to provide ceramic or abrasion-resistant comb members which cooperate to guide and tension a strand in the same fashion as the conventional metallic comb members, and which can be produced as economically and operate as efficiently as the metallic comb members, while overcoming the objection of destructive wear, brought about by constant friction between a traveling strand and contacting metallic surfaces. Y

To these and other ends, the invention consists in the construction and arrangement of parts that will appear clearly from the following description when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, the novel features being pointed out in the claims following the specification.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in front elevation of a strand tensioning device constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation looking from right to left of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a view in end elevation of the comb members;

Fig. 4 is a detail enlarged sectional view on line 4-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a detail enlarged sectional view on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 6 is a detail enlarged sectional view showing a modified form of comb member.

Referring more particularly to the drawings in which like reference numerals refer to the same parts through- I out the several views, 1 designates a metal frame provided with ears 2 that support pintles 3 upon which the respective comb members are mounted, it being understood that the comb members on one side are fixed and the other comb members movable in relation thereto and held yieldably against the strand which travels between the fingers of the opposite cooperating comb members.

The fixed comb members are mounted upon a plate 4 that is provided with suitable bearing portions 5 by which it is retained on the pintle 3, the plate 4 being held in 2,743,069 Patented Apr. 24, 1956 frame 1.

The plate, 4 is provided at its inner edge with a supporting portion 7 to which are attachedpreferably a pair of separate comb members spaced from each other cndwise of the plate and providing a rugged construction which presents less likelihood of fracture or damage to the comb members than if all in one piece. The comb members are formed of abrasion-resistant materialsuch as Heanium, a refractory ceramic. material disclosed in Patent No. 2,463,979, March 8, 1949, or other suitable material, that possesses such hardness as not to be affected by the friction of a strand traveling betweenjthe opposed comb members. Each comb member includes a series of curved fingers as indicated at 8 which are spaced from each other, each finger being thickest at its inner end, thinner at its outer end, and increasing gradually in thickness from its outer to its inner end, the fingers terminating at their inner ends in an attaching portion 9. 11 designates a shoulder abutting the adjacent edge 12 of the supporting portion 7 of the plate, while the attaching portion 9 of the comb member is attached to the plate by means of a series of fastening devices such as screws 13 that extend through, openings in the attaching portion 90f the comb mem-' her and have threaded engagement with openings in the supporting portion 12, the heads of the screws resting on the outer surface of the ceramic comb member.

The ceramic comb members may be attached to the supporting portion 12 of the plate 7 in other ways, as for instance as illustrated in Fig. 6, in which the comb member is provided on its inner edge with a groove 14 that receives the forward edge of the supporting portion 12 while 15 designates a body of solder, cement, or other bonding material surrounding the supporting-portion 12 within the groove 14 and acting to retain the comb member securely attached to the supporting portion of the plate.

The fingers of the comb members on the fixed plate just described are curved with their concave surfaces facing outwardly while the fingers on the cooperating comb members are similarly curved with their concave surfaces facing inwardly. The strand is fed through between the opposing concave surfaces of the comb members, the comb members with inwardly facing concave surfaces'being mounted upon a plate indicated at 16 which is pivotally arranged so that it may swing in relation to the fixed comb members. The plate 16, for this purpose, is freely rotatable within a limited extent on its pintle 3, and held yieldably against the traveling strand by a cord or flexible element that is connected to the pivotally movable supporting plate and controlled by a weight suspended from the free end of the cord, as usual in this type of construction. The comb members on the rotatable supporting plate are arranged and connected to the plate in the same manner as those already de scribed attached to the fixed plate.

With this construction, it is possible to construct the I friction between a traveling strand and metal surfaces. By constructing and mounting the ceramic comb members on the metal supporting plates in the manner described, it is possible to construct and assemble the parts economically and to provide an efficient and practical operation, with comb members having unlimited wearing qualities.

While the invention has been described in relation to the particular structure herein shown, it is not confined to the details disclosed, and this application is intended to cover such modifications, departures, or other adaptations as may come within the purposes of the improvement or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. Astrand tension device comprising a metal plate having a supporting portion extending only along one edge, a comb member of ceramic material comprising a base overlying said supporting portion, and located between said edge and the longitudinal center of the plate, a series of fastening devices extending through openings in said base and secured to the supporting portion, anintegral shoulder on said base overlying and abutting said edge of said supporting portion, and a series of spaced integral curved fingers on the comb member.

2. A strand tension device comprising a metal plate having a supporting portion extending only along one edge, a comb member of ceramic material having a groove in its inner edge extending endwise thereof and embracing the edge of said supporting portion, a bonding material in said groove surrounding the edge of said comb member, and a series of spaced integral curved fingers on the comb member.

3. A strand tension device comprising a metal plate having a supporting portion extending only along one edge, a plurality of separate comb members of ceramic material attached to said supporting portion and located in spaced relation to each other endwise of said plate, each of said comb members comprising a base overlying said supporting portion and located between said edge and the longitudinal center of the plate, and a series of spaced integral curved fingers, a series of fastening devices extending through openings in said base and secured to said supporting portion, and an integral shoulder on said base overlying and abutting said edge of said supporting portion.

4. A strand tension device comprising a metal plate havinga supporting portion extending only along one edge, a plurality of separate comb members of ceramic material attached to said supporting portion and located in spaced relation to each other endwise of said plate, each of said comb members having a groove in its inner edge extending endwise thereof and embracing the edge of said supporting portion, a bonding material in said groove surrounding the edge of the comb member, and a series of spaced integral curved fingers on each comb member.

5. A strand tension device comprising a metal plate having a supporting portion extending only along one edge, a plurality of separate comb members of ceramic material attached to said supporting portion and located in spaced relation to each other endwise of the plate, a series of spaced integral curved fingers on each comb member, and an integral shoulder on each comb member overlying and abutting said edge of said supporting portion.

6. A strand tension comb member of ceramic material comprising a series of spaced curved integral fingers, said fingers being of gradually increasing thickness from their outer toward their inner ends and terminating at their inner ends in a relatively thick attaching base portion, and a shoulder on said base portion adjacent to the inner ends of said fingers and coextensive endwise with said base portion.

7. A strand tension device comprising a metal plate having a supportingportion extending only along one edge thereof, a comb member of ceramic material overlying only said supporting portion of the plate and fixedly attached thereto at a plurality of points endwise of the supporting portion, and a series of spaced integral curved fingers on the comb member.

8. A strand tension device comprising a'metal plate having a supporting portion extending only along one edge thereof, a plurality of separate comb members of ceramic material overlying only said supporting portion of the plate and fixedly attached thereto at a plurality of points endwise of the supporting portion and located in spaced relation to each other endwise of the plate, and a series of spaced integral curved fingers on each comb member.

9. A strand tension device comprising a frame having ears thereon, a pintle supported in said ears, a metal plate mounted on said pintle and having a supporting portion extending only along one edge thereof, posts on said frame engaging said metal plate on opposite sides of said pintle and exerting a tension on the plate at opposite points, a plurality of separate comb members of ceramic material overlying only said supporting portion of the plate and fixedly attached thereto at a plurality of points endwise of the supporting portion and located on opposite sides of said posts endwise of the pintle, and a seriesof spaced integral curved fingers on each comb member.

References Cited in the file of this patent Kent Nov. 26, 1940 

